Interplay of structure, magnetism, and magneto-thermal effects in Gadolinium-based intermetallic compound

TL;DR

This study investigates the structural, magnetic, and magneto-thermal properties of GdRhIn, revealing significant magnetocaloric effects suitable for low-temperature magnetic refrigeration.

Contribution

It provides detailed characterization of GdRhIn's magnetic transitions and quantifies its magnetocaloric properties, highlighting its potential for refrigeration applications.

Findings

GdRhIn has a hexagonal crystal structure at room temperature.

Two magnetic transitions occur at 16 K and 34 K.

Large magnetocaloric effect indicates potential for magnetic refrigeration.

Abstract

We study structural, magnetic and magneto-thermal properties of GdRhIn compound. The room temperature X-ray diffraction measurements show hexagonal crystal structure. Temperature and field dependence of magnetization suggest two magnetic transitions antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic at 16 K and ferromagnetic to paramagnetic at 34. The heat capacity measurements confirm both the magnetic transitions in GdRhIn. The magnetization data was used to calculate isothermal magnetic entropy change and refrigerant capacity in GdRhIn, which was found to be 10.3 J/Kg-K for the field change of 70 kOe and 282 J/Kg for the field change of 50 kOe, respectively. The large magnetocaloric effect in GdRhIn suggests that the material could be used for magnetic refrigeration at low temperatures.